XXX - It is not what you are thinking .....

Hallo!

I know what you are thinking ... XXX for the title of this post?  That must mean Kate & Erik went to the Red Light District .... well, I do not blame you for trying, but you are dead wrong.  XXX, we learned on our walking tour, is the symbol for Amsterdam - and now that we know, we see it everywhere!

Late Saturday night we decided to go on a walking tour first thing Sunday morning.  We found a "WOW!" walking tour online and crossed our fingers that simply looking for a guy with a green WOW shirt at the National Monument would be preparation enough.  Well, it was.  It is about a fifteen minute walk to Dam Square and the National Monument.  On the way we stopped for coffee and an apple/cinnamon muffin.  We were early.  We still have no sense of time.  Only our laptop.  We do not carry that around so we hope for the best most of the time.  So far, it hasn't failed us.  It has also helped us forget what day it is - which, I've come to quickly learn, is the best way to live.

We parked ourselves on the National Monument steps and enjoyed our delicious breakfast decision.  It was almost 9:30 and we expected the WOW guy in a few minutes.  Sure enough, right on time, a man with a green WOW shirt dodged the bikes, the cars and the trams across the street from Dam Square to the National Monument.  I ran up to him and he immediately said "are you with the group of four?"  I said, "No, sorry, no reservations ... we thought we could just hop in?"  He said "fine, fine - we have a smaller group today, that should be fine"  So, we joined two women, Becca and Susan - both on Spring Break from their middle school teaching jobs in North Carolina.  They were RIGHT off the plane.  We broke the ice by talking about jet lag "at this age" while we waited for the party of four.  Terry quickly introduced himself - Terry O'Leary, originally from County Cork, and an Amsterdam transplant - his sixth year here and his fourth year as a part-time tour guide.  Also a filmmaker, he enjoys storytelling, which is why he loves to tell stories of Amsterdam.  I adored him from the first moment.  Erik was happy to simply have another guy around.  Soon enough four women sprinted around the corner and ran toward Terry, in his green shirt.  One lady looked down at her print out and said "hey, is this you?"  They explained that they were late and lost.  They were from Queens, New York - now, I was really happy!

And we were off - a 3.5 hour tour around Amsterdam.  We started at the National Monument and Terry talked about the German invasion and the five years nuetral Amsterdam withstood World War II.  We moved on to the Red Light District.  While legal, this occupation is highly regulated.  Fun fact:  Red Light ladies have less STDs than the general population.  We continued to the Rembrandt house, Flowermarkt, many canals, many churches, many gates and an all around Amsterdam review.  It was incredible to see the history and the amazing architecture.

We ended the tour in the Jordaan, our neighborhood, next to the Anne Frank House.  Terry talked about the house and talked about the Frank family capture.  He talked about a tour he hosted a few years ago and how an older gentleman said that he was in Westerbork, with Anne Frank.  Westerbork was a transit camp near the German border.  It was in Westerbork that this man's father, he claimed, taught the little girls (including Anne Frank) twice a week and the little boys twice a week.  Terry was leary of the man's story - he asked him if he was born before the war.  He said, "yes of course, I was born before the war and I was in Westerbork during the war" - Terry said he had to remind himself that when we talk about the Holocaust and when we talk about Anne Frank that it was not that long ago ... it was an unbelieveable story, but it absolutely could be true.

After the tour, and it was hard to say goodbye to Terry, we grabbed some frittes at a little snack place in our neighborhood.  Frittes, or fries, are served with a glob of mayonnaise - absolute goodness.  We walked around the Jordaan, enjoying the energy.  But, having only a coffee and half a muffin - the frittes turned out to be a complete belly bomb.  I had to lay down - my stomach was revolting.

After awhile, the frittes settled and we started talking things to do in the evening.  We had a busy day with the long walking tour and thought a nice dinner out and a quiet night was in order. 

I read that the Anne Frank House tours are less busy after 6pm.  It was almost 6pm and I asked Erik if he would like to go with me to buy tickets for another day (all the online tickets were sold out) and he agreed.  It was a 40 minute line and Erik said "if we are going to wait 40 minutes to buy the tickets, we are going right now" and I'm glad we did.  I've been there before, but it was just as overwhelming, gut wrenching, maddening and absolutely inspiring as it was the first time I went with my study abroad friend, Daren Leonard in 2002.

It was only an hour of our time but something like that stays with you .... now, I've read the book several times and I love knowing that she was writing her diary, not for the purpose of "dear diary" but for it to become a book, someday - she wanted to be a famous writer.  This makes me smile.

Here are some of my favorite Anne Frank quotes:

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."

"The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."

We have taken so many pictures, it was a struggle to not add them all - but we have added photos from our tour, from the Anne Frank House and some photos of our apartment courtyard. Enjoy!

 

The first EVER publicly traded company - was the Dutch East India Company, 1601 - it is now part of a Dutch university

Entrance to Begijnhof - for centuries, home of the Beguines, women who removed themselves from the world to dedicate their lives to God - known as women's island

The ONLY wooden house in Amsterdam

Terry describing the oldest Protestant church in Amsterdam

In old Amsterdam, instead of numbers, the people would place descriptions of their occupations or trades, in stone, on the outside of their homes.

corner of the former post office, now a department store

inside the old post office





Kate, Canal Street

The thinnest house in Amsterdam - houses used to be taxed by their width - this is why most canal street homes run skinny and long

close up, sinny house

  

our visit to the Anne Frank House

Kate, Anne, Erik



the fourth house from the left is the Anne Frank House - where the long queue ends



our street!

our street, we are the fourth door on the left

Erik, entering our apartment courtyard

walk through the courtyard to the apartment

we have the company of many stray cats.  Amsterdam is surrounded by water, which means mice - let's just say the cats are nice and fat



walk through the courtyard to the apartment



apartment courtyard

Rembrandt's House

Kate, listening to the story of Rembrandt

Kate, walking

Terry O'Leary, our tour guide

Now a cafe, this building used to house different professional guilds - including surgeons.  The surgeons would get bodies for medical testing right from the weekly executions in the square. It would be a famliy affair - families would pack a lunch for their entertainment.  Off with their heads!

 

National Monument



total Where's Waldo moment

Erik, Dam Square

Erik, National Monument steps

Erik, Terry, Kate

Inside the Begijnhof



Erik & Kate, Canal, Amsterdam

Today, Monday, we had a very lazy day - which, is allowed when you have two full weeks of LIFE in Amsterdam.  And, I had icecream for dinner - at the most famous icecream shop in Amsterdam, which also happens to be in the Jordaan and only a five minute walk away!

Cheers,

Kate & Erik

4/18/2011